After a 15-years break from acting, Jane Fonda is delighted her return to the silver screen has attracted so much interest. Steve Pratt talks to her about creating the monstrous role of journalist Viola.

JANE Fonda told women around the world to "feel the burn" as they exercised along to her workout video. Long before it was fashionable for celebrities to tell the public how to get fit, the two-time Oscar-winning actress was revolutionising the fitness industry.

Jane Fonda's Workout became the biggest-selling home video of all time. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings and five books. But 15 years ago Fonda the actress disappeared from view. The star of hit movies including Barbarella, Klute, Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine To Five and On Golden Pond called it a day. "My second marriage was failing and I wouldn't allow myself to admit it," she recalls. "I was in complete denial - and that's the antithesis of creativity. Finally, in 1988 I woke up and said, 'I don't want to do it any more'.

"Then I met Ted Turner and I didn't have to do it any more. I didn't miss it for a second."

Her marriage to the media mogul ended in divorce in 2000, although they remain friends. She focused on her work on environmental issues, human rights and the empowerment of women and girls. "Essentially I am a social activist and have been for a number of decades," she sums up.

Her return to the screen after a 15-year absence is as much a surprise to 67-year-old Fonda as anyone else. "I can't explain it, but I was ready and some vibe must have drifted into the atmosphere because people started calling my agent," she says.

"I'm a different person than I was 15 years ago and I was curious to see how that would read on screen and whether that would affect my work. Up until now, I hadn't really wanted to go back to work. I hadn't even thought about it."

She wondered if movie acting could be fun for her again. Picking Monster-In-Law with which to find out was a stroke of genius. Fonda is cast as Viola, sacked from her TV journalist's job for being too old. When her beloved son brings home a girlfriend (played by Jennifer Lopez) whom she considers inappropriate, Viola does everything in her power to get rid of her. She becomes the mother-in-law from hell.

"While Viola's behaviour is completely inexcusable, she's so outrageous that you forgive her," says Fonda. "You go along with her because she's just so terrible. She's like a volcano or an animal that pees everywhere to mark its territory. She just can't help herself. That's what I love about her".

She drew on a variety of personalities for the character, including Mae West, ex-husband Ted Turner and her grandson Malcolm. "Viola is dramatic and over the top, but she's also courageous, and she stands by her convictions. She couldn't have gotten as far as she did in her career if she didn't also possess those qualities, for better or worse," she says.

"I've never played a character like Viola. I'm just glad that after 15 years, my first character isn't dour or serious, but outrageously over the top. In the 50 films I've done, I don't think I've ever had so much fun. I didn't expect it."

Fonda points out that she's not like that at home. "The various people my children have brought home, if I'm not too happy, I try not to say it," she says. "I just know my children are pretty good and would work out on their own that this isn't the right person."

A steady stream of relatives and friends dropped by to say 'hi' during filming. They included her son, actor Troy Garrity, and daughter Vanessa Vadim with grandchildren in tow, as well as her stepmother Shirley.

She spent her free time working on her many charities and completing her autobiography My Life So Far, which was published in the US last month. Fonda admits that all the publicity surrounding the book and the film will push her back in the spotlight, something that makes her a little bit worried.

"I've had a wonderful five or six years - nobody bothers me, I don't like entourages. It's a low key, wonderful life. It may be a little bit different now for a while, I don't know how I'll adjust to that. That didn't exist when I was famous. It's scary".

Some would say she was infamous, notably for her protests against the Vietnam War that earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane. The wounds haven't healed entirely. Only last month she was spat on by a disgruntled veteran, many of whom still consider her a traitor.

During those protest days, she was still married to her first husband, French director Roger Vadim. In her book, she claims he was manipulative and sexually experimental. Her second husband was politico Tom Hayden. Then there was Ted Turner.

"I haven't met anyone in five years," she says. "Although a psychic told me that this year I was going to meet somebody. The last time I went to a psychic, it was amazing - everything was absolutely true. So I'm looking now."

Whether Monster-In-Law is a one-off remains to be seen. She says she might return to the screen again if the right project comes along. "I've had my career. I might be interested in this film or that if all the variable worked out, but I don't see myself having a film career," she says.

* Monster-In-Law (12A) opens in cinemas tomorrow.

Published: 12/05/2005